Magnitude of Neonatal Jaundice and Its Predictors among Neonates Admitted in NICUs in Ethiopia: A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Jaundice in neonates is one of the most common clinical problems. Neonatal jaundice is a yellowish discoloration of the white part of a newborn baby’s eyes and skin caused by high bilirubin levels. Across the world, in each year around 1.1 million newborns develop neonatal jaundice and the majority of this occurs in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. There are limited studies on the magnitude and predictors of neonatal jaundice, in Ethiopia. So, this study aimed to assess the magnitude of neonatal jaundice and its predictors among neonates admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).Methods: This Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted, from December 2020 to April 2021, on 394 participants. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select hospitals; and samples were allocated proportionally to each hospital based on the number of women who gave birth. Methods of data collection used in this study were both interview and chart review. Chart review was applied for variables which are found on the patient charts. Interviews were used for variables which are not found on the patient chart. Data was entered in Epi-info version-7 software and exported to SPSS version 23 for editing, cleaning, and analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify predictors of neonatal jaundice. Variables with a p-value 0.2 in the bivariate analysis were entered into a multivariable model at a 95 % confidence level to identify predictors of neonatal jaundice while controlling for potential confounding factors. The significance of the association was determined using a P-value 0.05.Result: This study involved 394 mothers with their neonates. The response rate of this study was 100%; following. The magnitude of neonatal jaundice was 20.8% [95% CI: (6.32-27.64]. Being male neonate [AOR=1.52, 95 CI (1.32-8.54)], Prolonged labor [AOR=2.31; 95% CI (1.05-11.05)], primiparous mother [AOR=1.99; 95% CI (1.08-10.64)], neonatal sepsis [AOR=1.15; 95% CI (1.00-13.2)], and instrumental delivery [AOR=1.78; 95% CI (2.15-17.11)] were found to be the predictors of neonatal jaundice. It is recommended to practice essential obstetrical interventions such as following the laboring mothers in the active stage of labor with partograph to prevent prolonged labor, using aseptic technique during intrapartum and postpartum periods to prevent neonatal sepsis, and revising prerequisites and indications before the application of instrumental delivery.